One Hundred Pennies
by anissaannalise
Summary: It's all about the pennies. One shot. Bryce/Nicole Nyce-fic


**Disclaimer:** I totally don't own FlashForward, I've simply free running plot bunnies inspired by some of the characters. This is just my toybox to have a little fun.

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**One Hundred Pennies**

Bryce didn't realize when he started to do it. Checking all the pennies that came his way for the year. It was an automatic kind of thing as soon as he'd found out about the pennies Ms. Kirby used on her wall mosaic. He'd pay for something, ask for any change under a dollar in pennies and then later check the years, separating the 1989s from the others. After a few days the cashiers in the hospital cafeteria started counting without him even asking and abandoned their sideways glances. Since the blackout, lots of people did little things that would have been considered odd before. Why he wanted a standard of currency most people threw away by the handful was far too benign to dwell on for too long.

He'd been surprised with how many of the 1989s he'd come across and wondered at the statistics of it. Was it chance? Coincidence? Or what Ms. Kirby would have called _God_? Bryce decided that he didn't know and it really didn't matter. What mattered was the reason he collected them. Nicole. It was important to her to bring her mother pennies, so it became important to him. She'd been a great friend and support in his search for the woman in his flash. He knew that left on his own, he'd still have been stuck on the incomplete _kenji_. And even though the trip to Japan hadn't turned out a success, he was glad he'd gone.

Through it all, Nicole had been a reliable and sympathetic friend. She'd pushed and encouraged him when he'd needed it and had proven to be a lifeline when he'd found himself in an ocean of doubt and discouragement. He'd become closer to her than anyone else in a long time. His cancer diagnosis hadn't really inspired him to be terribly social and even with the revelation of his flash, she was the only person he'd forged a deep connection with.

So it wasn't a surprise to him that whether he was working or off on his own, Nicole wasn't very far from his thoughts. As much as he looked forward to his flash coming true, he knew she feared hers doing the same. He didn't know what would happen ultimately but he was definitely invested in making her time leading up to that moment as happy as possible. Besides, seeing her smile made him happy.

"Hey, you. All done for the day?" Bryce asked as Nicole walked up to the station desk.

"Yeah. I'm heading out. You?"

"I've a couple hours left to go but I'm glad I caught up with you."

"Really?" she smiled, hopeful.

"Mmhm. These are for you." he said as he held up two rolls of pennies.

"Oh. Thanks." she smiled as he placed them in her palm.

His hands were warm. She always noticed that.

"Sure. It's just what I've collected over the last week or so. I've got to get to Radiology so, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"I'll be here."

After parting with a smile, Nicole balanced the rolls in her hand. She slipped them into her jacket pocket as she walked down the corridor toward the exit. That he'd thought of her mother and brought her pennies only made her like him even more. If that were possible. But it seemed to her that Bryce was able to come up with new ways to steal her heart regularly. She'd known for a while now that she liked Bryce as more than a friend. Not that it mattered. He already knew his true love was out there somewhere. He'd seen her in his flash and even though they hadn't yet met, she, whoever she was, held his heart. It had amused Nicole briefly to think of herself, Bryce, Flash-girl and another random person all lined up. Each one holding the heart of the one behind them in one hand unknowingly while holding out their own heart to the one before them for the taking. The idea quickly lost its value when Nicole considered that she was on an end. Neither having her heart held nor being offered one. It kinda sucked.

Nicole sat outside her house in her car stalling, as usual. She'd long given up the idea that she'd get used to the uncertainty of how she'd find her mother. She remembered how it felt like the bottom had dropped out of her stomach just before she introduced Bryce to her mom. But then it turned out better than fine. It was actually a really nice evening for the three of them. Bryce had been right. She needn't have worried or been afraid. Given what she'd seen during her flash, worried and afraid were always somewhere in the back of her mind but when she was around Bryce they were pushed just a little further away.

She looked at her watch. It was time to go inside. She climbed out of the car and headed inside the house.

"Hi, Mom."

Nicole saw her mother in her usual spot, glue in hand and working diligently.

"There's my girl. Did you bring them?"

"Right here, Mom." she said and held up the rolls Bryce had given her earlier while digging into her own pocket for the pennies she'd come across that day.

"How's your friend? The doctor."

"He's fine. He gave me the rolled ones for you." she smiled at the thought and handed them over to her mother.

"He's nice." Ms. Kirby said as she opened the rolls and poured the pennies on the table.

"Yeah, he is. It's nice he thought to send you pennies, huh?

"He wasn't thinking of me, he was thinking of you."

"What makes you say that?"

"They're all 1989. One hundred thoughts about my special girl."

Nicole looked down at the pool of pennies bled out among the ripped wrappers. The dining room light caught the faces. Each penny had been stacked face up in its roll and lain out it was clear to see each was stamped 1989. She couldn't help but smile.


End file.
